1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for determining eligibility and enrolling eligible persons, such as credit card members, into appropriate programs, such as programs for the payment of past due or overdue accounts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Credit cards allow users to receive immediate credit from the credit card issuer by purchasing items using the credit card, and then repaying the credit card issuer for the purchased items at a later date. Many credit card issuers (or “issuers”) extend additional credit to credit card members (or “credit card holders” or “card holders”) by permitting monthly payments of less than the total balance of the credit card account, in exchange for the payment of interest by the credit card member for the remaining balance of the credit card account. A credit card issuer may require minimum monthly payments from a credit card member to ensure that the balance on the credit card account is eventually paid in full.
Some credit card members are unable to pay even the minimum monthly payments to the credit card issuer and thus become delinquent. Various hardships, such as divorce, illness, loss of employment or reduction in income, may prevent a credit card member from making the required payments. Credit card members may also be prevented from making appropriate payments due to other obligations, such as mortgages, loans, and other credit card payments. Credit cards have become very widely used due to their ease of use, relative security, and extension of immediate credit. Thus, there is an increased number of delinquent credit card members.
As a result, many credit card issuers design payment programs for delinquent credit card members. The payment programs are often tailored to suit particular categories of hardships and circumstances such as those mentioned above. The card members are asked to commit to payment programs which suit them best, and still satisfactorily repay their debt to the issuer. Providing tailored payment programs encourages card members to make a commitment to repay. Card members are more likely to complete the payment programs if the requirements of the programs are matched with some of their particular needs.
Unfortunately, there are numerous shortcomings with existing payment program eligibility and enrollment systems. Credit card issuers may have difficulty determining which payment programs are appropriate and best for a particular card member, and then may have trouble committing the card members to enroll in the program. Issuers also have difficulty designing effective payment programs. These are significant drawbacks.
One problem may arise when some card members who are not eligible for a particular payment program are mistakenly offered that program anyway. Conversely, another problem may arise when a card member who is eligible for a payment program is not offered that program. Different payment programs may have certain initial conditions to be eligible for enrollment. For example, a payment program may have as an initial condition for eligibility that the delinquent card member has recently lost his or her job. Thus, some payment programs may be appropriate for some card members, but inappropriate for others. The issuer may not always apply correct and uniform standards for determining eligibility for the payment programs. Another problem may also arise when card members are offered one payment program when another payment program would have been more beneficial to the card issuer. In circumstances where a card member is eligible for more than one payment program, some of the payment programs may be more beneficial to the card issuer than others. These are all significant drawbacks to conventional eligibility and enrollment programs.
Another problem with prior art systems is determining in a timely manner those programs for which a card member is eligible for enrollment. The issuer may be required to obtain various information from a card member to determine if the card member is eligible for a particular program. Obtaining this information and determining eligibility may be a lengthy process. This inconvenience has the effect of discouraging the card member from enrolling in a payment program. The inconvenience taxes the issuer's resources as well. If a card member requests information on several payment programs before committing to any of them, then the inconvenience for both parties is compounded. Therefore, current systems discourage some card members from enrolling and are also burdensome for the card issuer.
Another drawback of current systems is obtaining feedback on which payment programs are most effective. The most effective payment programs both entice the card members and lead to repayment of the greatest possible portion of money owed to the card issuer. Current systems do not provide feedback about which programs perform well based on these two factors.
Other problems and drawbacks also exist. Although the problems and drawbacks of the prior art have been discussed in relation to a system and method for enrolling delinquent card members in repayment programs, these same problems and drawbacks exist in other systems for enrolling members.